Noah’s long-distance travelers

Quartzite boulders speak powerfully of the global Flood

Well-rounded quartzites like these (see figure 1) from Central Oregon have been
transported some 500 km (300 miles) from their source. Sometimes they are 30 cm
(12 inches) across and weigh more than 40 kg (90 lb).

Photo by John Hergenrather

Figure 1. Well-rounded quartzites from Central Oregon

Billions of rounded quartzite boulders and cobbles are found widely scattered throughout
the northwestern United States and western Canada. You could easily overlook their
significance unless you ask where they came from. The nearest source of quartzite
rock is near the Continental Divide in Montana, Idaho and British Columbia (see
map below). Yet quartzite boulders are found scattered eastward into Saskatchewan
and North Dakota and westward throughout spots in Oregon and Washington. What could
possibly have moved these rocks 500–1,000 km (300–600 miles) from their
source over almost-level ground (slopes less than 0.1 degrees)? The geological processes
that transported them are clearly not happening today!

What is quartzite?

Quartzites come in almost every colour of the rainbow. Many have percussion marks
(pointed at in figure 2) indicating violent collisions during transport, in suspension
at times, in deep torrential waters.

Quartzite rocks are so hard that they can be rolled long distances without disintegrating
like most other rocks would do. They are composed of the mineral quartz (SiO2)
and bound together with silica cement. Quartzite was once a softer sedimentary sandstone.
But heat and pressure changed it into a hard metamorphic rock. Quartzites come in
countless colours and designs. Some are banded with the original colours of the
sandstone strata. Though usually mixed with other local rocks, quartzite cobbles
can be easily recognized after a little practice. They are unusually smooth and
rounded, and the lighter colours have a semi-opaque look. If you break one open,
the inside has a sort of granulated or ‘sugared’ appearance. For this
reason, some people call them ‘sugar agates’.

Quartzite locations

The map (above) shows some of the scattered deposits of rounded quartzites in the
greater Northwest and Canada. The coloured area along the Continental Divide signifies
the nearest sources from which the scattered quartzites could have come. This map
is not complete, but reflects the locations that my friends and I have observed
or have read about in the literature. As quartzites were carried east of the Rockies,
they acted like gigantic cutting tools and planed the hills flat on the Northern
Great Plains. The locations west of the Rockies are more isolated and scattered,
probably reflecting a complicated mountain uplift. Interestingly, many of the western
quartzites are found stranded on ridges or on mountain tops. How could this be explained?
We have a clue in the retreating phases of Noah’s Flood.

The most likely process

For the waters of Noah’s Flood to recede, there had to be differential sinking
and rising of the earth’s crust. This is probably what Psalm 104:6–8 is describing:

‘So You covered it with the deep as with a garment;

The waters were standing above the mountains.

At your rebuke they fled,

At the sound of Your thunder they hurried away.

The mountains rose; the valleys sank down

To the place which You established for them.’ (NASB)

Thus the floodwaters receded off the earth with tremendous erosional force. The
fact that quartzites were left on the tops of ridges and plateaus suggests that
they were first carried by huge sheets of water which were flowing over a generally
flat landscape. But as the mountain ranges continued to rise, land emerged above
the eroding floodwaters, lifting the rocks as well. Further mountain uplift would
have constricted and directed the waning Flood currents. This would have initiated
a more ‘channelized’ phase of the receding Flood.1 Also, during this phase, major drainages and canyons
were carved and probably much of our present day topography was formed. At this
time, most of the quartzites were swept away with other eroded material. However
some remained mixed with the gravels along major river valleys, and others collected
in newly-formed deep basins.2 This
is what we would expect to see with the Flood model, and this indeed is what we
observe in the field.

A baffling puzzle

The long distances that quartzites have traveled are a great mystery for evolutionary
geologists.

The long distances that quartzites have traveled are a great mystery for evolutionary
geologists. Several variations of ‘ancestral river’ or ‘paleotorrent’
theories have been proposed by conventional geologists. For example, Dr Stephen
Reidel, staff geologist with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, and his associates
say that ‘ancestral river’ systems distributed the quartzites now found
in parts of the Columbia Gorge and throughout the Columbia Basin of Washington.3 But this theory is wholly inadequate
to explain the presence of quartzites in the Puget Sound area near Seattle.

Also without good explanation is the presence of quartzite boulders in central Oregon,
where there is no geological evidence for any ‘ancestral river’. Portland
State University geologist Dr J.E. Allen discovered quartzite boulders up to 1 m
(3 ft) in diameter on several mountains in northeastern Oregon. He wrote, ‘no
nearby source for the quartzites has been recognized’, and suggested they
were carried there by a ‘torrential paleoriver’. Then he admitted that
this theory was ‘an outrageous hypothesis’ considering the wide distributions
and the great distance of transport.4

Transport mechanism studied

Geological researchers Peter Klevberg and Michael Oard have studied quartzite distributions
in eastern Saskatchewan and North Dakota.5
They have asked what sort of currents would be required to carry boulders over 1,000
km (600 miles) from their source. By applying open-flow channel equations they calculated
that oblong boulders 15 cm (6 inches) across would require currents of at least
105 km per hour (65 mph) in waters 60 m (200 ft) deep. These figures are minima!
These rates are astounding, especially considering that modern-day flash floods
seldom exceed 30 km per hour (20 mph) even when traveling down steep slopes. Modern
floods don’t come close to explaining the distances most quartzites have traveled.

We can’t rule out that super-dense mudflows and other mass-wasting processes
may also have played a part in transporting quartzites. However, most far-travelled
quartzites show evidence of being rounded by a fluvial (watery) transport. In addition,
many quartzites are scarred with semi-circular percussion marks (see figure 3).
Most geologists agree that these marks indicate the rocks banged against each other
while being carried in suspension in a violent watery flow.

A solemn reminder

Quartzite distributions are a powerful and convincing signature of the recessive
phases of the Genesis Flood. The reality of the Flood is a solemn reminder that
God is the Sovereign Ruler and Judge over His creation. So why are the evidences
for the Flood outlined in this article so significant? Because, if the Flood happened
the way the Bible says it did, then the supposed evidence for evolution and millions
of years collapses. Either most of the earth’s fossils, sedimentary rocks
and landforms signify long ages of evolution or they represent a recent watery catastrophe.
They can’t represent both scenarios at the same time. What the Bible says
about the Flood is important. It is foundational to clear and consistent Bible history
and theology as well as underpinning accurate Earth science.

The information on this site can change lives—former atheists tell us so. Why? Because it’s information people haven’t heard before. So keep it coming by supporting the researchers and writers at CMI. Support this site